350,000 hands held together in favour of the right to decide in the Basque Country

Gure Esku Dago ('It's in Our Hands', a platform in favour of the right to decide) needed 100,000 people to form a human chain linking Donostia, Bilbao and Gasteiz. According to the organizers, 175,000 people came together to connect the three Basque cities.

More than a thousand buses took people to make up the 202 kilometre-long chain. 5,000 volunteers took part in the organization of the event. Citizens put on their neckerchiefs and held hands at midday, and a man called Pablo Muñoa set the Citizens' Pact off in Donostia; it went from hand to hand all the way to the Basque Parliament (for the provinces of Araba, Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia) in Gasteiz.

The contents of the Citizens' Pact had been worked on by Gure Esku Dago (GED) from town to town and in a participative way; it brings together proposals made by different stakeholders in Basque society for the right to decide to become a reality in the next few years.

Because of that the current initiative wanted to have a particular influence on the Self-Governance Committee meeting at the Basque Parliament, wanting it to take the Citizens' Pact into account. The document lists 2,019 reasons to be in favour of the right to decide. GED has announced that it will soon take it to the Parliament of Navarre in just the same way.

The human chain was supported by political parties, trades unions and all types of organizations. EAJ, EH Bildu, Elkarrekin Ahal Dugu, ELA, LAB, ESK, Eilas, Bilgune Feminista, Altsasuko Gurasoak and many other groups came together on the day. Amongst them, ANC, Òmnium Cultural, ERC and CUP from Catalonia. The Spanish political parties PP and PSE declared their opposition to the event, and claimed that it created conflict in Basque society and divided citizens.

Donostia (Photo: ARGIA / Dani Blanco)

The key to a new political cycle

Gure Esku Dago spokespeople Jone Amonarriz and Angel Oiarbide read a document in front of the Basque parliament at the end of the event in Basque and Spanish respectively. They emphasised that the date was not going to be forgotten and that the right to decide will be key to the next political cycle. "It is indispensable in order to guarantee coexistence and it enables us to defend all types of projects." Members of the platform are sure that Basque citizens are aware of the strength of their power and that they will make use of it over the next few years.

They also made reference to other struggles and proclamations in the main message and underlined that the right to decide has an influence on all of them. Next year GED will carry out a special process of reflection in order to see how all of that will happen, and they have already announced that they are going to work for the creation of a permanent network in favour of the right to decide.

In 2014 another human chain linked Durango and Iruñea

In June, 2014 GED connected Durango, Bizkaia, and Iruñea, Upper Navarre, with a 128 kilometre-long human chain. 150,000 people came together to do that. GED has held numerous multitudinous events since it was founded in 2013, but its most significant initiatives have been votes on political status for the future held in different towns and cities; almost 200,000 people have taken part in them. The voting phase will conclude this year in Igeldo, Donostia and Iruñea.

On Saturday around 85,000 people took part in the demonstrations in Bilbao (Bizkaia, Basque Country) and Baiona (Lapurdi, Basque Country). In defence of Basque prisoners' rights, they demanded the French and Spanish governments keep their word.

The workers at Huerta de Peralta in Azkoien, Navarre, are on indefinite strike since the 26th December in order to defend their rights and demand that the company reinstate the four workers it has sacked. They held a multitudinous demonstration in Iruñea on 7th January, and many citizens supported the workers.

This Basque Autonomous Community association has asked the authorities not to fumigate pine trees affected by harmful fungi using copper oxide because that would be harmful to public health and the environment.

ARGIA is the senior Basque publication, and it now has its 100th anniversary. Members of ARGIA, along with representatives from the Basque Government, have presented the acts which will be held to celebrate the anniversary. "A century is no ordinary anniversary, and our team has been preparing appropriate celebrations for a long time now", they explained.

Klika (‘Click’) is the slogan which has been chosen for this year's Korrika ('Run'), which is the 21st time it will be held. From April 4th to 14th it will go all around the Basque Country, starting at Gares and finishing at Gasteiz. The pro-Basque language run will pay tribute to Jose Luis "Txillardegi" Alvarez Enparantza for his contribution to Basque culture, activism and thought.

The Strasbourg Human Rights Court has punished Spain for not giving Arnaldo Otegi a fair trial. As a result of the unfair trial the Basque Left leader spent six and a half years in a Spanish prison, as did a further four people on trial in the Bateragune (´Place for Coming Together') case.

The trial on the murder of Iñigo Cabacas has started in Bilbao, atthe third Court of Bizkaia. Six Basque policemen will be judged for being in charge of giving orders or for having admitted firing rubber bullets on the day of the murder. Other Basque policemen also shot rubber bullerts, but their identity has just to be disclosed at the trial.

On 6th October thousands of people took to the streets of Gasteiz (Araba, Basque Country) for Okupatu Gasteiz Eguna (Gasteiz Squatters' Day). Their aim was to congratulate the city's squatter movements and self-managed projects and, in spite of the city council's censorship, proclaim that the streets belongs to everybody. The day started with a colourful demonstration, but that was followed by a festive spirit which lasted until the early hours of the next day.